By looking at whales living in captivity, we see lower life spans than those living in the wild, which shows that there are various cons to living in captivity that affect the whales.  The average age of orcas living in SeaWorld is 13 years old, while in the wild the average life span is 30 to 50 years.  However, male orcas’ maximum lifespan is 60 to 70 years and females’ is 80 to over 100 years. These lower life spans could be caused by the size of the tank they are living in because it does not compare to the wide open ocean they’re used to.  The tanks also separate the whales from others which is hard for them because they are very social animals.  Whales have distinct language that they use with their family throughout the ocean but being captive stops them from carrying out that language.  Also, whales are not fed the right types of food and do not get enough nutrients as they would if they were living in the wild and hunting their prey.  The whales have to perform tricks taught to them by their trainers for entertainment in order to be fed.  This makes the whales become violent and aggressive towards their trainers.  Which is why we see so many trainers being injured or even killed by the whales living in captivity. A whale named Tilikum killed three people during his time in SeaWorld.  Trainers and other humans that come close to the whales are put in danger because of the whales’ aggressiveness. John Hargrove was a killer whale trainer at SeaWorld for 12 years.  Hargrove suffered multiple broken bones and almost destroyed his sinuses.  Hargrove loved the thrill of working with the whales but this experience showed him that whales don’t belong in captivity.  Being confined in unnatural spaces and forced to perform tricks in order to be fed by their trainers affects the whales’ physical and emotional well-being.  Overall, we see that the life span of whales in captivity is affected by the living conditions they are put through showing that whales should not be living in captivity.  

Cetaceans are one of the few mammalian animals that are capable of communicating vocally.  There is evidence of this because of changes in song patterns and experimental work on whales in captivity.  Whales create certain songs for their family and communicate across the ocean to each other.  Orcas are highly social and live in stable social groups in the wild so they suffer greatly from being separated from them.  Living in captivity takes that ability away because they live in a small enclosure.  Vocal communication is such a huge part of whales lives in the wild, it is how they communicate with their family.  Whales hunt with their family groups but because the whales in captivity do not hunt they miss out on this important socialization.  The whales are only exposed to a few other whales in their tanks.  Also, males will use mating songs when looking for a female mate.  Singing to the females is how they show them that they are fit and a good choice to mate with.  The singing shows the female that they are interested in reproducing and makes it clear to other competing males that they are claiming their territory.  Whales have distinctive calls for their family group or pod, because whales in captivity do not have a pod they are unable to communicate with the other captive whales around them.  Sound is extremely important to the survival of whales because it is how they communicate with each other and it is their strongest sense in the ocean.  Sound is the strongest sense because some whales live in dark areas where they cannot rely on their sight to get around.  Also, the water limits their sense of smell so they cannot rely on that either.  Due to the lack of communication in their enclosures the whales do not have senses that they can rely on.  

Pollutants and toxic chemicals reach the aquatic enclosures and can affect the whales.  Some studies say that the pollutants can produce health effects among marine mammals.  This could cause why the whales do not live as long in captivity as they do in the wild.  Also, in 2010 there was hazardous chemicals found with the whale’s food supply at SeaWorld.  This shows that the whales were at risk of getting their food supply contaminated with harmful chemicals.  The trainers were also put at risk from the toxic chemicals at their work place which could be very unhealthy.  Overall, the chemicals in the enclosures and with the food supply affects the whales’ health and wellbeing making it an unsafe place for them to live.  These living conditions could by why whales do not live as long in captivity as they do in the wild. 

Orcas in the wild are always friendly towards humans, however in captivity they are violent.  Scientists argue against the artificial enclosures and argue for more natural settings to help the whales adapt.  An orca from SeaWorld, Tilikum, is responsible for two deaths of trainers and one death of a trespasser.  Tilikum was a 12,000 pound killer whale, who pulled in a woman by her arm and brutally killed her.  These attacks by Tilikum made SeaWorld get three safety violations.  Three humans have died from orcas since 1991 and many others have been badly injured.  Whales living in the enclosures were seen as more violent than whales in the wild.  There was never a problem with whales and humans until they started living in captivity.  There is no record that a whale in the wild has harmed a human.

Whales also are not fed the proper food that they eat in the wild.  The food they are fed doesn’t meet their dietary needs and it doesn’t give them the nutrients they need.  Also, whales usually have to hunt for their food but living in captivity they are given their food which would trouble them if they were to be released.  The whales are usually violent because they are only given their food in exchange for doing tricks for their trainer.  The whales living in SeaWorld and other parks are forced to do tricks all throughout the day which can be tiring and unhealthy for them.  In captivity the orcas are unable to hunt so they are fed gelatin, pig and cow bones which is not natural for them.  Tilikum consumed 83 pounds of gelatin every day.  Gelatin was used to keep them hydrated since they were not obtaining water from their prey.  In the wild whales will hunt and feed on sea birds, squid, octopus, sea turtles, sharks, stingrays and fish.  Also, killer whales feed on small whales and seals.  They always feed on live prey because they are not scavengers they are hunters.  The diet of whales in captivity sometimes is frozen-thawed fish, which takes the hunting out of their routine.  If whales living in captivity were to be released into the wild they would not know how to hunt their prey.  Also, the meals in captivity are often the same meal everyday with little variation.  Orcas in the wild are prime predators and hunt with their family groups, which is usually five to thirty whales.  One can see that the whales’ prey in the wild is way more nutritious and healthy for them than the food they are fed in SeaWorld.  

In 1972 the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) was enacted and said the “take” of marine mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens is illegal.  Many marine mammal species are going extinct because of human activities which is a reason that the act was passed.  They want to be able to replenish these species that were dying out.  This act prohibits the ability to take whales captive, however SeaWorld has just been breeding whales instead.  That way the whales are born into captivity and never get to experience life in the wild.   Also, there is the Endangered Species Act which conserves species that are endangered and conserves the ecosystems they depend on.  This act helps animals that are going extinct which shows that they can be protected and do not have to live in captivity to survive.  The Marine Mammal Center helps various endangered marine mammals including blue whales and humpback whales.  Many state and local jurisdictions have laws to protect endangered species along with marine mammals.  There are also international agreements that protect marine mammals across not only U.S. waters.  The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) guidelines require that captive animals have the appropriate shelter, in which the whales inhabitance is not appropriate size.  

A wildlife veterinarian, Heather Rally, visited SeaWorld in 2015 to look at the orcas and she was not happy with what she saw.  She reported severe dental trauma to the orcas.  When the orcas are bored and stressed they tend to gnaw on the edges of their tanks.  However, Rally was alarmed at the severity and frequency of the dental trauma she observed.  Chewing on the hard parts of their tank fractures the orcas’ teeth.  The fractures then expose the living tissue within their teeth and can be very painful to the orcas.  Also, the fractures represent a “direct portal” for bacteria to enter the bloodstream.  This can lead to heart problems, pneumonia, sepsis and death.  Now the vets must perform a “root canal” on the orcas in order to clean out the pulp of the tooth.  So now for the rest of the orcas’ lives they will have to get daily cleanings by the vets in order to keep their teeth fit.  This dental trauma is very rare in the wild, showing that this is only a problem within SeaWorld.  Also, Rally said when it does occur in the wild it is never up to the severity of what she saw at SeaWorld.  This shows that whales should not be living in captivity because it has a terrible effect on their health. 

Also, the enclosures are not large enough for the whales liking.  Whales need a lot of space to swim around and these enclosures do not give them enough space.  They may have collapsed dorsal fins from living in a small space from not having enough room to swim freely.  SeaWorld believes that collapsed dorsal fins are common among all orcas, however it rarely happens in the wild.  In the wild it is a sign of an injured or unhealthy orca. Also, orcas living in tight quarters together may break out in fight due to tension and anxiety.  After a fight there is no space to flee to which leads to injuries and deaths.  In the wild there is plenty of space for them to flee after a fight.  Fights are rare in the wild.  Some of the whales in captivity have died from injuries due to fights turning violent.  In 2012, a male named Nakai had his entire chin torn off from fighting another whale in his enclosure.  Also, in 1989 a female named Kandu broke her own jaw and severed an artery from attacking another whale in her enclosure.  Kandu bled to death in front of her calf.  SeaWorld gives the whales drugs in order to stop the aggressive behavior but it doesn’t stop.  Heather Rally, a wildlife veterinarian, says that the aggression is The orcas will break their teeth trying to escape from the enclosure.  Killer whales are usually 23-32 feet long and the new enclosures at SeaWorld are only 50 feet deep.  Killer whales in the wild are used to diving down about 80 feet.  The enclosures are so unnatural to the whales that it gives some of them anxiety.  Orcas in the wild can swim up to 100 miles a day, which would be hard to do in their small enclosure.  Obviously it is dangerous and unhealthy for whales to be living in such tight spaces which is why living in the wild is better for them.

Those with the opposing opinion on this topic believes that it is okay that SeaWorld is keeping whales captive instead of letting them live their lives out in the wild.  If SeaWorld were to let their captive whales out into the wild, they would not survive.  The whales living captive have been there either their entire life or so long that they will not be able to survive in the wild.  Also, if it weren’t for SeaWorld we wouldn’t have learned lots of new information on whales.  Whales are hard to study in the wild so having them in captivity made it a lot easier for scientists to learn about them.  Also, SeaWorld hasn’t captured a whale in over 35 years, SeaWorld has been breeding whales instead.  There are many threats to wild orcas such as overfishing, pollution, and climate change.  Those with the opposite opinion would believe that there are not only problems with whales living in captivity but also with whales living in the wild.

The practice of taking whales and dolphins into captivity started in the 1960s.  Whales had to adapt to changes in their environment such as climate change and other changes.   It is important to realize that the biology, physiology, and behavior of modern cetaceans has not remained unchanged.  Whales transitioned from land to water and had to adapt to their new environment.  Several decades of observation prove that orcas are not naturally violent and deadly to humans.  There has never been a case of a wild orca killing a human.  Living in captivity does not come close to meeting the orcas’ needs.  Orcas need space to travel and move around, most orcas travel over 100km every day.  Sometimes orcas that are in close spaces get in fights and after they fight they have no space to flee.  This causes the orcas to be killed or injured even worse.  Also, orcas are very social and males never leave their mother.  Each orca family identifies each other by a unique call.  Putting orcas in captivity takes them away from their family and that doesn’t happen in the wild.  Also, in captivity orcas are not fed the food that they prefer.  However, due to having whales in captivity scientists have learned many new facts about whales.  SeaWorld is not a stranger to concerns about animal mistreatment due to former trainers leaking information.  They have said that the park deprives the whales of food in order to get them to perform tricks.  Also, SeaWorld separates calves from their mothers and pumps them with drugs.  Their life span is much shorter in captivity than the wild which is the opposite of what SeaWorld claims.  However, people have caught on to the problems with SeaWorld, they reported an 84 percent drop in net income and also drops in attendance for the last quarter.  Whales in captivity should not have to go through such bad living conditions they should be able to live a happy and healthy life in the wild.  Overall, this proves that whales would live a much longer and healthier life in the wild rather than living in captivity.
